For years I hoped I was singing the right letters, yesterday it was confirmed. "ABC BBD" is correct, so go with it. Last night it should have stood for: ABig Crowd BoyzIIMen Brought Down.*

While this post could be fully devoted to Boyz becoming Men (I just can't let go. It's unnatural), I thought I'd take a chance to reflect on the three (excessive? no) trips I made to this year's Iowa State Fair, to which nothing compares.

I've written about the fair, well, kind of a lot. And this year is no different. The fair did not disappoint, and I saw a couple things I'd never seen in my 6+ years in a row of attendance (I think. I really don't know if that number is correct, but I've been in Des Moines 7 years, so I'd bet it's close.) Look how excited the fair made me this year? (actually that is a photo of me trying to make my hair fly around in front of a fan. I have no future as a model)

I met a rodeo queen. Did you know they have these? Well they do, as shown above. (No, it's that photo on the right with the horse.) So many bedazzled cowboy shirts. We watched as the rodeo queens, some with crowns carefully placed atop their hats, paraded around what I assume is a little practice arena. It is strange to see so many jewels and curled hair and pristine personalized chaps riding around a dirt pit filled with horse poo. Maybe that's why it is so special, because it doesn't quite make sense.

I saw cool man Sam ride a sheep, or "mutton bust." This is a real thing, mutton busting. I'll explain it to you: kids who are smaller than one of my legs are put on a sheep. They wear helmuts (the kids, not the sheep) because they are thrown off it's back within 1.6 seconds of the sheep being let out of it's pen. The event also featured a loud mouthed rodeo clown who was occasionally entertaining but mostly told secretly offensive jokes. And he wore an inflatable suit that made him look like a busty woman in a bikini.

Oh, and I held a snake. Jim, the snake guy, couldn't have been nicer. And while Jake the Snake (that's what he is called) scared the crap out of me, I did it. Snakes are very muscly.

This duo of photos is hilarious. If you aren't me. I am obviously having an awesome time on the crazy mouse.

Water Runs Dry came out in 1995. What a deep (pun intended) song for me to be singing, all the time, as a 12 year old. Jen, I thought of you and I arguing in front of the bookshelf boombox over who got to sing Shawn Stockman's part in the song while they were working it out on stage.

Just don't be. It's not a nice quality in a person. Also don't wear that shirt.

So I saw a mini rodeo (ok they were kids riding sheep, but still), held a snake, met a princess (someone who wears a crown and rides a horse: princess) and danced to Motown Philly. The Iowa State Fair was good to me.